Monday, 30 May 2016

In order to reduce the original eight part series so that it will be only two hours long, the numerous subplots from the original TV series have been omitted. The film tells the story of two brothers – Laust and Peter – and their involvement in the war. This makes it a much more focused and – in my opinion – a much better film to watch.

The first twenty minutes of the film relates the background to the lives of the two brothers, after which it concentrates on telling the story of the war through their eyes.

The quality of the battle scenes is remarkable, and in some of them one can almost feel that one is actually there. It is interesting to see how the film's director has referenced scenes from famous paintings and illustrations done in the aftermath of the war. The following stills give some impression of how impressive their achievement has been:

I recommend the DVD of the film version of this series to anyone who has an interest in The Second Schleswig War of 1864.
Below are some of the images produced after the war that were referenced in the film:

14 comments:

Very timely, Bob, as I am finishing the bases on my Danes today. I am goin gto use them with Neil Thomas's "Wargaming Nineteenth Century Europe". The views of the fortifications are especially welcome.-Steve

Sounds like an interesting project! Did you watch the series on TV? If not, I recommend this film version, which has most of the military action in it and excludes almost all of the social and political subplots.

I have not seen either. I was drawn to this conflict as a child, when i saw the uniforms in Preben Kannick's wonderful Blandford book. I drew paper soldiers for this period when I saw about twelve. now, I happily own about 1 figures for the Danes, ans 'way too many' for the German-Austrian forces.

I first heard about the war when studying for my A Levels (Europe 1815 to 1914), and was also intrigued by the illustrations in the Kannick book.

My recent interest came as a result of a visit to the military museum in Copenhagen, where they had a display about the war. One look ... and I was hooked! If only I had the time and money to paint the figures that I need.

In America, we operate under the assumption that nothing happened in Europe between the War of 1812 and our "Saving Europe" in WW1. Thank God my parents invested a lot of time in hauling me around between two branch libraries and several bookstores. I was cynical before I left elementary school.

I wish that I could say that things were better in the UK, but most Brits have little or no idea about their history. When I gave up teaching, history had become an optional subject after the age of 14 ... and was taught thematically before that age.

It also had a not very covert 'political' content or bias. For example, our pupils were taught about slavery and the slave trade in America ... but we were not allowed to mention that most people sold into slavery were sold by coastal African tribes to white traders, and that the East African slave trade was run by the Arabs until almost the beginning of the twentieth century. These facts were 'inconvenient' and did not fit the political agenda that our political masters wanted propagated.

The TV series has several subplots that are missing from the film version.

The subplots include one that revolves around a modern day young girl (whose brother has been killed whilst serving in Afghanistan with the Danish Army) who discovers the diary of the woman involved in the main story, and the young girl's relationship with an old man who she is sent care for ... who turns out to be the descendant of one of the main characters involved in the main story.

Another subplot deals with the political machinations that lead up to the outbreak of the war, and the impact of the defeat on the Danish nation.

If the subplots appeal, then go for the TV version; if you just want to concentrate on the military aspects of the war, chose the film version.

Thanks for the extra info Bob. I think I will go for the longer version (though I'm primarily interested in the military side) as the political biuld up is of interest and I feel that I was missing something out if I didn't.

Thanks for the review. I enjoyed the TV series, but will get the DVD of the film as the military content is all that I would be be interested in seeing again. Very tempted to do this war in 54mm. I have a photocpied book on the Danish army from Helion, but there seems to be little information out there on uniforms.

I'd be interested to see how this works as a feature-length film having only seen the TV series. But I would recommend to anyone interested in this as a period to watch the whole TV series. The political and social background informs the plot of the two brothers going to war, and their relationship with the officers. Without that, it just looks like a bonkers decision by the Danes to go to war with Prussia and Austria. I remember 'doing' the 2nd Schleswig-Holstein War in O-level history, but only as a step in the German re-unification process. OK, it still looks like a bonkers decision by the Danish government, but the machinations and the nationalism portrayed at least make it sort of explicable in mid-19th Century terms.

I found the social background fascinating too. That tension between a near feudal regime and there being a sense that the peasants had rights enshrined in custom. It seemed like this was another aspect of the change in direction in Danish history post 1864. And obviously there's the direct link between the relationship with the local lord and one's regimental officer.

The modern sub-plot with the brother's death in Afghanistan, seemed to be a reminder of the pain and the shock of 1864. It seemed to be saying, 'let's not go there again'. I wasn't convinced by the twist in the story of the family history though.

But most importantly, without the political backdrop we wouldn't have so much of Sidse Babett Knudsen to enjoy either!

I agree that the series makes for very interesting viewing, and does explain the reasons why Denmark - a country that nowadays seems to play a very minor role in European politics - was a much more important state in the middle of the nineteenth century. I also enjoyed watching the representation of the somewhat ineffective British 'involvement' in trying to stop the war, especially as Queen Victoria was related by marriage to the ruling families on both sides of the conflict.

The social history covered in the TV series - both during the mid nineteenth century and in present-day Denmark - was very informative ... but for the majority of wargamers I suspect that they would have had their finger on the 'fast forward' button during those sections!

All the best,

Bob

PS. Have you read the book that the series was based on? It is excellent!

Pages

The First Rule of Wargaming and the Spirit of the Wargame

The First Rule:

‘Nothing can be done contrary to what could or would be done in actual war.'

- From 'The Rules of the Naval War Game' by Fred T Jane

The Spirit of the Wargame:

‘Wargames are played, for the most part, without the supervision of an umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual players to show consideration for other players and to abide by the rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the wargame.’

- Adapted from 'The Spirit of the Game' in 'The Rules of Golf' as published by the R&A Ltd.

About Me

I have been wargaming for as long as I can remember. One of the first toys that I was bought was a wooden fort that was garrisoned by assorted lead soldiers ... and I have never looked back!
The first wargames book I bought was CHARGE! (although I had taken out [and repeatedly read] Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES book beforehand [and many thanks to John Curry for republishing it!]).
My first 20mm figures were the good old Airfix Guards Infantry and Band (in shocking pink!), soon followed by others as they were released, and by 1968, when I bought my first metal Hinton Hunt 20mm figures, I had a large collection of World War II figures, tanks, guns, and aircraft.
I was a founder member of WARGAME DEVELOPMENTS and have been the treasurer and membership secretary ever since. I have also organised – along with Tim Gow - the annual conference (COW – Conference of Wargamers) for the past ten years.
My main interests are wargaming any wars from 1850 onwards, although I have a special interest in Colonial, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II wargaming.
I also have a special interest in wargames that use square or hex grids for movement and weapon ranges.